Wedding Weekend

I'm going to be MIA for a week or so as a good friend is getting married at Seascape Resort this weekend. I'm in the wedding so that means I have lots to do to help her get ready. Plus Bachelorette party on Thursday. Woohooo!

I'll talk at you next week...Happy Knitting!

~ Christina

Half Way There

I'm about half way done with the Cascade 220 felted bag (I'm using color 4002). It's a great project to do while at a knitting group or in front of the tv because it's mostly mindless.


Cascade 220 Felted Bag in Progress

Ok, I've had a rough week and I'm really tired, so that's all for now. Have a great weekend!

~ Christina

Related Posts:
October 13 Stop the Madness

Bourne Supremacy Scarf

On my way to the Knitting Meetup last night I stopped off at Knitting Arts to see if I could find yarn for Patti's Bourne Supremacy scarf. It's the scarf Julia Stiles wears in the movie.


Matt Damon & Julia Stiles in "The Bourne Supremacy"

Anyhow, I forgot to bring the yarn info I got off of a post about this scarf on Knitter's Review Forum. The woman working at Knitting Arts was nice enough to go online and look the info up for me. I thought that was so cool. It's Berroco's Medley in color 8913. Unfortunately they only had one ball, so I bought it for swatching. If I decide I like the way the swatch looks I can always go online and buy more of the yarn.

I had a great time at the Knitting Meetup last night. There were more people there then I've seen at previous Meetups. It was so much fun to see what everyone else was working on. I met a KnuKnitter who was wearing a fabulous poncho she had made. And two women who were new to the group (and I'm embarrassed to say I don't remember their names) were knitting with some beautiful, soft, fondlicious Lorna's Laces yarn they got at Jimmy Bean's Wool in Truckee. I'm definitely going to need to take a trip up to Tahoe this winter to check that store out!

Hooray for KnitWhits!

My friend and talented knitwear designer Tina Whitmore has a beautiful felted hat in this month's issue of Vogue Knitting. Congratulations Tina!


KnitWhits Felted Hat in Vogue Knitting

Tina is the driving force behind KnitWhits where she sells original knitted patterns and kits. My personal favorites are Siena and Snowbird. I just noticed on her site that she will have Felted Vintage Flower Pins soon. I can't wait for those!

In other news...I received another beautiful postcard from my KRSP.


KRSP Postcard 02 - The House on the Rock in Spring Green, WI

Thanks Pal! I hope your vacation to Wisconsin was fun.

Ok, I'm off to knit with my Knitting Meetup group. I'll talk at you again real soon.

Mystery Kit 01 Finished

I finished the Mystery Kit 01 in the cool colorway. In the interest of keeping it a mystery for those working on the kit I've posted photos here:

Photo 01
Photo 02

I'm giving my sister the kit in the warm colorway. I'm not sure if she'll want to make the pattern included or something else. She's asked me to teach her how to knit a hat.

Now it's off to work on my other WIPs...


Related Posts:
October 12 Mystery Kit 01 Has Arrived

Package from My KRSP!

I received the most awesome package from my KRSP today! I came back from a meeting to find a package in my office. When I saw the return address was "KR Secret Pal" I was so excited! I immediately tore into the box to find:


KRSP II Package

• Two 50g (230 yard) skeins of Hot Socks Sockenwolle in color 220
• Two 50g (43 yard) skeins of Sensations Willow novelty yarn in color MIS-26
• A "Knitting Pure & Simple" Neckdown Pullover Tunic sweater pattern
• Two wooden purse handles from JoAnn Fabrics
• A flashy red notebook
• Yummy candy (chocolate balls and lolipops)
• A note from my pal detailing everything

I have just the purse to put those handles on. I finished a felted purse made out of Noro Kureyon but didn't know what to do about handles. These will be perfect! And I've wanted a simple sweater pattern to try out my first sweater with. The sock yarn is in beautiful warm fall colors so I'll have to make them soon. And the novelty yarn is going to be really fun to play with.

Thanks for all the goodies pal!

Puzzle Postcard from My KRSP

I got a really cool puzzle postcard from my KRSP today. The puzzle my pal sent me was of a pumpkin patch in honor of Fall - my favorite season.


Completed Puzzle Postcard from KRSP

I had fun putting it together but I noticed that my pal beat my time by almost two minutes! I then proceeded to waste a good 1/2 hour on other puzzles. I sent one to my DH and was happy to see I beat his time!

Thanks Pal!

Knitting Adventurer

I was reading RoseByAny's Blog and came across this really cute Knitting Quiz. Below are my results...what kind of knitter are you?


brought to you by Quizilla

You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer. You are through those knitting growing pains and feeling more adventurous. You can follow a standard pattern if it's not too complicated and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've started to experiment with different fibers and you might be eyeing a book with a cool technique you've never tried. Perhaps you prefer to stick to other people's patterns but you are trying to challenge yourself more. Regardless of your preference, you are continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as well you should since your non-knitting friends are probably dropping some serious hints, these days.

Stop the Madness!

I have a problem...I keep starting new projects or commiting myself to new projects before finishing my WIPs. For instance I just started knitting this really cute felted bag after seeing one Bogie made at Sundays S'nB. And then there's the Mystery Kit #1 Project I just got.

I'm hoping that if I create a list of my future projects it will curb my ADD-like behavior and I can finish what I've already started and then make my way through the list without forgetting anything. Plus when I do get around to these projects I can come back and link the posts to this list. See I can be organized.

• Mandi & Khurshed's Blanket
• Dina's Poncho
• Knitty Gritty Felted Bag
• Super Skiny Scarf
• Lissa's Socks
• Dad's Hat
• Amanda's Scarf 1
• Amanda's Scarf 2
• Sweater for Me
• Mandi's Poncho
• Ryan's Hat
• Shea's Hat
• Lissa's Poncho
• Patti's Scarf

Please keep in mind these projects are in no particular order...just a random brain dump. Ok, I feel better now that I have that all listed out. Whew!

Mystery Kit 01 Has Arrived!

A few weeks ago Bogie posted about the Mystery Project Kit #1 from Inspirations Yarn. Basicaly it's a kit that contains a "mystery" pattern and enough yarn in either a cool colorway or a warm colorway (depending on which one you select when ordering). Once I saw what it was all about I just had to try it out. So I ordered two kits, one in the cool colorway and one in the warm colorway, and they arrived today!


Mystery Kit #1 (Cool & Warm) from Inspirations Yarn

Inspirations Yarn decided to keep what the finished knitted item was a secret, so I'll just have to follow the pattern and see what emerges. How fun!

Green Manos Ribbed Scarf

I've started this Manos del Uruguay scarf from this beautiful green yarn I got at a Knitting Meetup Yarn Swap we did a few months ago.


Beginning of Green Manos Ribbed Scarf

I'm using size 15 bamboo needles and I cast on 36 stitches. I'm then just doing a basic 3x3 rib stitch. I've completed about 25 rows, so I have quite a ways to go. I have two skeins and I think I'll probably use 1.5.

I LOVE Manos Del Uruguay yarn, but green isn't one of my favorite colors to wear so I think this may become a Christmas gift for my MIL. She would look so great in it!

Stitch 'N Bitch

I had a wonderful get-together with the SJSU Stitch 'n Bitch group today. What is Stitch 'n Bitch you ask? Well I'm not sure if it was a sassy knitting circle first and a Knitter's Handbook second, or the other way around. I do know that it was created by feminist Debbie Stoller. I think the NY SnB was the first and it grew from there. I participate in the local San Jose chapter. Basically a group of lively, and usually young, men (yes men do knit) and women get together every Sunday to knit, chat and snack. It's fun and I usually end up learning a thing or two!

Quick & Easy Hat

I needed a break from Chica's sweater and swatching, so I decided to make this quick & easy hat.


Quick & Easy Hat

I lost the yarn label long ago, so I can't tell you what it is (I thought it might be Rowan Biggy Print but I can't find a color match), but I do know that I used size 15 circular and double pointed needles. I cast on 44 stitches and worked three rows in seed stitch. I then knit the rest of the hat in stockinette stitch. I began decreasing when I had knit 15 rows. I knit two stitches, then knit two together (k2tog), knit two stitches then k2tog all the way around the hat. Then I knit a round without any decreases. The next row I knit one then k2tog all around the hat. Another round with out decreases and then a final row of k2tog every stitch. From there I threaded my yarn through the 11 stitches and pulled them together to finish off the hat. The final step was to weave my ends in.

What I like best about projects like this is how quickly they knit up. This project probably took me about 2 hours. And now I have a hat to wear when winter comes around.

Well I'm off to San Luis Obispo for the weekend, so Happy Knitting and I'll talk at you next week!

Chica's Sweater Swatch

So I knit two sweater swatches for Chica's sweater last night. The first one I knit using size 7 needles (as called for in the pattern) and instead of getting the 20 stitches per 4 inches I was supposed to have I got 17 stitches to 4 inches. So I unraveled my first swatch and I tried a size 6 needle and knit another swatch. (Did I mention I HATE swatching?) Same result, 17 stitches to 4 inches.


Chica's Sweater Swatch on Size 6 Needles

Now what? Am I doing something wrong? Should I have gone up a size in needle instead of going down? It seems to me that would give me less stitches per inch. I figure, worst case the sweater will be a bit larger on Chica. I'm ok with that. She can grow into it.

The yarn I'm using is "Leader Tweed" by Tawny, #412. It's 100% acrylic. I'm not a big fan of acrylics, but I figure it's the right choice for a dog sweater. It's a good idea to be able to throw it in the wash when needed.

Postcard from my KRSP!

I'm participating in the Knitter's Review Secret Pal II program and I got my first contact from my Pal today...a beautiful postcard! I put in my initial survey that I collected postcards and I guess my KRSP was paying attention. If you're reading this...Thanks Pal!!


KRSP II Postcard

I was part of the first KRSP and it was so much fun! Basically the way it works is at the beginning of the program our AMAZING organizer IndigoMuse has us complete a survey with questions about the type of knitting projects we enjoy, our favorite yarns and colors, the types of knitting tools we like to use, etc. along with our contact info. IndigoMuse then secretly provides us each with a Pal. For the duration of the program we're then supposed to send our pal notes, emails, packages, whatever we want with things we think he/she will enjoy. A reveal date is predetermined at the beginning of the program and when that date arrives we tell our pal who we were. It so much fun selecting, sending and receiving things!

This second round of KRSP program has a blog. We just started so hopefully people will begin posting there soon.

> Chica's Sweater

Ok, it's time to start talking about knitting. Let's start with Chica's Sweater. Chica is my Dad and Stepmom's beloved pet dog. They live in Baja and my Dad brought Chica home one day as a birthday present for my Stepmom. Chica's been the favorite "child" ever since! Its hard to compete with a pet, especially one that looks so much like its owner, (both Chica and my Dad have long, shaggy, black hair with silver throughout). So I figure my best bet is to win Chica over and maybe she can help me somewhere in the future with my parents. Hey, it can't hurt.


Chica

So I'm knitting Chica a sweater. Now I know what you're thinking...a sweater for a dog that lives in Baja? But it does get colder in the evenings during the winter. Besides, this sweater is a request from my Dad (I'm sure Chica put him up to it, he'll do anything for her). I took my Father and Stepmom to a LYS and they picked out some yarn for the sweater. I then went and found a book of dog sweater patterns (I know that's pretty assbackwards, but what can I say, that's how it happened). I think I've narrowed it down to either the "Bright Stripes" pattern or the Coat from the "Blanket and Coat" set. Either one of these patterns will need to be modified since I'm not doing stripes or images on the sweater. My Dad has given me the measurements, so I think the next step is for me to knit a swatch (I HATE knitting swatches). I'll post a photo once that's done so I'll have an image of the yarn I'm using.

Ta ta for now...

Thanks for the help!

She doesn't know it, but Bogie helped me set-up my links section. I just couldn't figure out how to add the HTML code. I knew what code I needed to use, I just didn't know where it went. Then I looked at the source code on Bogie's site and was able to figure it out. So thanks Bogie!

Slowly but surely...

I'm starting to get the hang of this. I think I've come up with a template I'm happy with. My next goal is to figure out how to post photos so I can put some of my knitted items online. Stay tuned...

I've joined the blog world...

After hearing about and reading blogs for a few months I decided it was time to get one myself. I've been knitting for almost two years now and it's been confirmed that I'm obsessed and addicted (just ask my husband). So why not take the next logical step and spend the time I'm not knitting talking about my knitting projects? Seems logical to me anyways. I'm going to try and spend the next week or so setting this thing up. So please bare with me as I do so. And please feel free to comment or provide feedback if you see something I could do to improve my little spot in cyberspace. Thanks!